Consistency: the key to student's top class results
Thursday August 17 2006
Ronan McGovern, the only student to score nine A1s in this year's exam, was out with the local Sarsfields GAA team training for the minor championship quarter final.
That was the priority for the 17-year-old from Newbridge, Co Kildare, before meeting up with his school friends to mark the results.
It's typical of the commitment of the former Patrician College, Newbridge, student, who puts his Leaving Certificate success down to consistent studying.
"Consistency: do consistent work over the years, starting from first year. It doesn't take necessarily five hours or four hours a day; it just takes a slow building up of the work," he advises.
Ronan had an inkling in June that he might have been among the top achievers. "I felt I was there or thereabouts, but you can never be sure after the exam, because you find flaws and reasons to believe that you might go down."
The eldest of three, he scored perfect results in English, Irish, Maths, French, German, Accounting, Physics, Chemistry and Applied Maths.
A strong science/maths bent is not surprising from a student whose father Jim is head of the School of Mechanical Engineering and Transport at the Dublin Institute of Technology.
Ronan is now planning to start the undenominated engineering course at UCD.
- Katherine Donnelly
